Quality Reports - Ear, Nose and Throat
Time to Next Appointment
Why we measure it - The time to next appointment actually is the time to the third next available appointment for new patients, which is a more accurate measure of how long a patient needs to wait before seeing a specialist of his or her choice for the first time.
One of our service standards is the ability to make appointments within a reasonable length of time. We have set a length of two weeks as a goal for subspecialty clinic appointments. Urgent and emergency patients are seen immediately.
What this means - We have made significant improvement in this area despite a nationwide shortage of ENT specialists.
About the data - This data reflects a measure that is an industry standard. This data shows the number of weeks to schedule a new, non-urgent appointment.
Related dimensions of care:
  
What we're doing to provide the best care:
- Urgent and emergent patients always are seen immediately. Referring physicians can quickly access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day by calling our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.
- We have hired three fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologists in the last three years.
- We expanded our hours and now offer appointments in the evening.
- Under the direction of our pediatric ENT specialists, our nurse practitioners assist in seeing patients as quickly as possible.
- Our specialists see patients at a second location in Milwaukee (Greenway Clinic) to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our hospital location.
- We perform many outpatient procedures at our Surgicenter location near the Milwaukee hospital, approximately 10 minutes from Children's Hospital. Here, patients may be scheduled sooner and enjoy the convenience of a smaller facility, while being cared for by the same pediatric ENT surgeons and pediatric anesthesiologists they would see at the hospital.
- To improve our clinic flow and patients' experience, we had parent focus groups help redesign our waiting room and teaching room in the ENT Clinic. We also are improving our teaching materials and working to reduce wait times and improve our patient satisfaction scores.
- We are using a LEAN process improvement initiative in the surgery area to optimize our patients' satisfaction. LEAN is an internationally recognized tool to enhance efficiencies and allow health care providers to focus on quality interactions with their patients.
- To improve patient flow and case management in the ENT Clinic, we are a part of many specialty clinics including: Audiology, Audiology Processing Disorders, Cochlear Implant Clinic; Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic; Airway, Digestive and Voice Clinic, Saliva Control, Speech, Tracheostomy/Ventilator Clinic, Vascular Malformations Clinic, FEESST Clinic, and Voice Clinic.
Patients/Families -
- If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling, at (877) 607-5280, or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule so another child can be seen.
- Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
If you have questions about this data or information, e-mail us or call (414) 266-6556.
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